[hider=Sergius]
[center][img]http://wolfgameshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hell-2.jpg[/img][/center][center][h1][color=firebrick][b]Sergius Aetius[/b][/color][/h1][/center][center][sub]Sergius Victor, Dux Impera Aetius, Magister Militum Aetius, Exarch Aetius[/sub][/center]
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Appearance[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
Sergius is a man of average appearance. He stands at a fair 5’10”, weighing in at 166 lbs. His hair is jet black, well kept and short. He sports a thick patch of stubble of the same color. His eyes are darkened brown. His complexion is tan from years subject to the sun, and his skin is marked with scars of battle at many ends. A jagged slash on the right shoulder from a Northern warrior’s blade, the gruesome remains of a dagger into the left thigh.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Personality & Drive[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
Sergius is a man of servitude. Born within the Empire, he became a leader of men. His campaigns in the North have made him cunning yet cautious. Despite the victories which brought glory, the defeats were ever so bitter, transforming him into one of caution and of cynicism. His current drive, despite all he has lost in the campaigns in the North, is eternal servitude to the Empire.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]History[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
Sergius was born in the Empire, into its very west, where the forests and the rolling plains clashed. He was born into a family of a good wealth and a fiery loyalty to the Empire. He was instilled with the passion of honor, loyalty, and service. Never once did he have a debt that he did not pay off, and never once did he betray or cross his own blood.

He entered his teenage years longing for the fray. He was obliged, and over those years became a leader of men. He gained the traits of the tactician, the strategist, and the logistician, and as well became an impeccable physical specimen of true skill with the blade, polearm, pilum, and bow. He was granted his own complement of troops, mainly loyalist levies led by small detachments of professional footsoldiers, and just in time for the conquest of the North.

He led his troops in many a battle. Victories and losses marked the band’s record, and with each, Sergius’ scale of command grew, as did his zeal and cunning. This marked up until a battle of which his entire force was routed and his own mounted guard decimated in the effort to cover the retreat. It was here that he sustained most of his injuries, and made a full recovery and returned to service against all odds.

He learned a lesson. He became cautious, cynical, calculating. His sense of servitude grew despite this, and continued his service well into his third decade of life.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Rivalries & Friendships[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
WIP
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Loyalty[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
Archon of War
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Armaments[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
[hider=The Blade of Atoning Loyalty]
[img]http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/how-far-can-you-march-for-rome-march-of-rome-mod/images/4/47/Spatha.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150531004105[/img]
The mounted blade of Sergius is one of particular importance. It is a spatha, a blade constructed to be used while mounted for slashing and thrusting. It is forged of iron, and was acquired in the Northern campaigns from a smith, and was enchanted by his own Archon with the physical inability to break, symbolizing the unbreakable loyalty of Sergius to the Empire.[/hider]
[hider=The Blade of Infamous Justice]
[img]http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/images/Product/large/MA-AC0300S.png[/img]
Sergius blade of choice when dismounted is that of a gladius, as well forged from iron. It was gifted to him at the first of his campaigns by his own Archon. It possesses the supernatural ability to strike terror into the hearts of men, symbolizing the undying might of the Empire.[/hider]
[hider=Pugio]
[img]http://www.hill-interiors.com/images/giant/s5716.jpg[/img]
Sergius’ secondary blade when upon the ground. It’s a dagger. No, really. No enchantment or anything, it’s just a fancy dagger.[/hider]
[hider=Dux’s Armor]
[img]https://thesoldiersplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/romangeneral-16.jpg[/img]
It’s a simple set of armor worn by a senior officer. Consists of iron and bronze plating, protecting from most direct slashes.[/hider]
[hider=The Empire's Honor]
[img]https://rautaportti.fi/images/large/Images%20Shields/AH3853L%20Classical%20Roman%20Scutum_01_LRG.jpg[/img] 
A bulky shield of wood, bronze, and iron, made to counter and redirect bladed strikes, the scutum is extremely effective at its role. This specimen even moreseo, being blessed with the ability to counter the extreme heat and extreme cold variations of magicka.[/hider]
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Abilities[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
He is no magician, nor is he a mage in any right. His skill as a warrior is unrivaled, and he is said to possess a supernatural power, an air of command which sends the morale of his men soaring and making his authority and orders of utmost priority among his men.
[/hider]
[hider=Sergius’ Holding]
[center][img]https://puu.sh/vx93h/2ed6921df6.jpg[/img][/center]
[center][color=firebrick][h1][b]Regio Militum VIII[/b][/h1][/color][/center][center][sub]Military District VIII[/sub][/center]
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Type[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
The eighth military district is an absolute military governorship under Sergius Aetius, working under orders from the Empire to assimilate and recruit the conquered Northmen.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Culture[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
While the peoples of the North are generally let alone with their domestic practices, they have been constantly exposed to Imperial culture with the influx of migrants from the inner Empire looking for new lands to settle. In tandem, construction efforts were put forth by Sergius, and carried out by his own men and a crew of slaves, which brought Imperial architecture to the conquered populace. The Imperialisation process is in full swing within the North, with the old ways of the subjugated gradually fading away.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Description[/b][/color][/h3][/center][center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/3d/78/dc/3d78dc9cebd789f416d485efd7765d4b.jpg[/img][/center]
Villages within the district would often look similar to above in architectural style, based upon Imperial architecture but built with locally available materials, creating a blend of both the Imperial and Northern architecture.

As for layout, villages dotted across the district vary greatly in scale and shape, making a description of uniform layout impossible. The same cannot be said for cities, however, which are constructed in neat ‘block’ systems that account for a specified length between roads running four directions, that intersect every so often and connect to an outer square or rectangle of paths connected to each and every one of these roads. This makes navigation of the city extremely easy, and makes it extremely defensible from the city square/forum. To add to the defensibility of the cities, often barricades are constructed around it, whether it be a wooden palisade, clay construct, or complete stone wall.

The main exports of the district include animal hide, salted meat, freshwater fish, and grains, attributed to its lush forests, two bordering rivers, and fertile soil, respectively. Public order is kept in check easily by martial presence and the coexistence of the Northern peoples and the Imperials.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Laws[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
The tenants and laws of the district do not differ from that of the Empire in any fashion, save for the enforcement of said laws. Instead of punishments being carried out by town watches, they are performed by the local martial presence. As a result, the sentences are often harsher and carried out summarily. Despite its short-term effect on public order, this method has significantly staunched the crime rate.
[center][h3][color=firebrick][b]Military[/b][/color][/h3][/center]
The military of the district is that of Sergius. Sergius is the commander of all forces within the district, and thus has set out a prevailing system of military he had found effective after the subsequent decimation of his force at the Wreberst Crossing on the Aolz River.

This system is on the basis that all citizens are eligible to volunteer, be levied, and be conscripted into the armed services as a civic duty in exchange for the privileges of citizenship offered to them. Similarly, non-citizens can volunteer as auxiliaries, reserve and specialised forces, and they can also be levied and conscripted, but only in times of war with another sovereign body or with the express permission by a local leader.

Another revolutionary concept is that this system does away with the soldiers buying their own equipment. Instead, their equipment is provided through lump sum shipments bought by Sergius, and the costs are levied from their wages over the course of their service. Another perk of this is that reprocuring equipment from the fallen on the battlefield can be done easily, with the standard issue kit being able to be reissued.

Though this relies on citizen initiative and levies, it is anything but unprofessional. A standard of training has been established by Sergius, and volunteers and levies, citizens and non-citizens all receive the same basic combat training over a period of roughly 4-6 weeks. The standard equipment has also eliminated the class division within the services, equating even the poorest footsoldier to the wealthiest one in equipment and ability. [/hider]